Posted: February 21, 2006

Athletics: In Goodwill Gesture, Dubai Marathon Offers Athletes Compensation

From David Monti

© 2006 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com

In a gesture of goodwill, the organizers of the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon have offered to compensate the three women who were mistakenly led off course.

"Race director Peter Connerton has agreed to pay the three women who went off course, Luminita Talpos of Romania, and Hirut Abera Legesse and Diribe Hunde of Ethiopia, as if they had finished third, fourth and fifth," said spokesman Pat Butcher in an e-mail message sent to the RRW office.

As such, Talpos will receive third place prize money of $8,000, Legesse will receive fourth place prize money of $6,000 and defending champion Hunde will receive fifth place prize money of $4,000. The women who finished third, Kenza Wahbi of Morocco, will also be given $8,000 for finishing third.

An agent contacted by RRW confirmed that the race was offering a settlement, but said the three women had been offered $6,000, $4,000 and $3,000, respectively. The higher amounts would appear to be correct since they the organizers made them official in their release to RRW.

Talpos, Legesse and Hunde were mistakely led off course by a lead motorcycle near the 30 km mark. It is uncertain how far they actaully ran, but it was well over 42.195 km.

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